New Details for FIFAWC

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More information and the first screenshots of EA's upcoming PS2 soccer game.

By Dave Zdyrko

EA has teamed up once again with FIFA and the Japan Football Association (JFA) to bring us the newest update to the FIFA series. In comparison to previous games, player models will have about 20 times the number of polygons per player. These extra polygons should allow for more realistic looking players with smoother joint transitions. As we've come to expect in EA's sports games, FIFA on PS2 will include player edit and replay modes. It'll also have individual goal celebrations of a number of world-renown soccer superstars.

The game itself will feature a number of modes, including World Cup, Under-23 years Old World Championship, League, Training, and Exhibition. Within the game itself, the In Game Management and In-Game Tactics features allow for team administration and play calling on the fly. There will also be matches taking place in the day, evening and night times.

EA's FIFA may get the jump on Konami's Jikkyou World Soccer, which has suffered numerous delays and is now scheduled for a June 2000 release. Another point in its favor is the starring role Japanese soccer star Hidetoshi Nakata plays in the game. Since he has gone on to fame in Italy's Series A, he has been the most popular soccer player, if not athlete, in all of Japan. And while it is difficult to tell from the screenshots, the game's graphics appear to be quite crisp with nice textures. With only a little over a month to go, it looks like EA has another strong sports title on their hands. Tune in to IGN in the coming weeks for more info on this one.